"Fresh" on a food label, used to suggest the food is unprocessed, means raw: never frozen, never heat-treated, and not put through any other form of preservation. A food can still be called fresh after a mild chlorine or acid wash, an approved wax or coating, or refrigeration. "Fresh frozen" and "frozen fresh" mean the food was frozen quickly while still fresh, recently harvested, and blanching first is allowed. Where "fresh" doesn't suggest the food is unprocessed, as with pasteurized milk, which shoppers know is pasteurized, the rule doesn't apply; but FDA's own example is that "fresh" on a pasteurized pasta sauce does. In the example below, a San Diego juice maker sorts out where it can say fresh.
The short version
- "Fresh" implying unprocessed means raw: not frozen, heated or otherwise preserved.
- Washes, approved waxes and refrigeration don't rule it out.
- "Fresh frozen" means frozen quickly while still fresh; blanching is allowed.
- Pasteurized, cooked or otherwise preserved foods can't imply they're unprocessed.
- High pressure processing is a form of preservation.
- Where "fresh" doesn't imply unprocessed, the general rule against misleading labels applies.
- TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and dates, raw or processed. More below.
Can it say fresh?
| The food | "Fresh"? |
|---|---|
| Raw, refrigerated, never frozen or preserved | Yes |
| Raw produce after a mild chlorine wash or with an approved wax | Yes |
| Quickly frozen right after harvest | "Fresh frozen" or "frozen fresh" |
| Pasteurized, cooked or heat-treated | Not in a way that implies it's unprocessed |
| High pressure processed | Not in a way that implies it's unprocessed |
| Pasteurized milk | The rule doesn't apply: shoppers know milk is pasteurized |
The warning juice that isn't treated carries is in juice warning label, and the juice rule itself in juice haccp plan.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Fresh | When it suggests the food is unprocessed: raw, not frozen, thermally processed or otherwise preserved (21 CFR 101.95(a)) |
| Fresh frozen | Quickly frozen while still fresh, recently harvested; blanching allowed (101.95(b)) |
| Still fresh | After approved waxes or coatings, approved post-harvest pesticides, a mild chlorine or acid wash, low-dose irradiation, or refrigeration (101.95(c)) |
| Outside the rule | Uses that don't suggest the food is unprocessed, such as pasteurized milk; FDA's example of one inside it is pasteurized pasta sauce (101.95) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: where "fresh" fits
Sunset Cliffs Juice Co., the made-up cold-pressed juice maker in San Diego, California, I use in these examples, had "fresh" across its labels. A grocer questioned it on the bottles, so the owner went through each:
| Product | How it's made | "Fresh"? | Label now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counter juice, pressed to order | Raw, refrigerated, not preserved | Yes | "Fresh-pressed green juice", with the warning untreated juice carries |
| Grocer bottles | Cold-pressed, then high pressure processed | No | "Cold-pressed green juice" |
| Frozen smoothie packs | Fruit frozen in a blast freezer the day it arrives | "Fresh frozen" | "Smoothie pack, fresh frozen fruit" |
| Bottled lemonade | Pasteurized | No | "Lemonade" |
High pressure processing isn't heat, but it is a form of preservation, which is what lets the bottles keep for weeks, so "fresh" came off them; "cold-pressed" describes how the juice was made, and stayed. The counter juice is raw and pressed to order, so "fresh-pressed" is true. How the bottles get to grocers is in juice co-packer.
Get the checker
Download the fresh claim checker. One sheet: each product, whether it's raw, frozen, heat-treated or otherwise preserved, and whether it was frozen quickly right after harvest; whether it can say fresh fills in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The checker sorts the claims. Raw counter juice and processed bottles of the same recipe, made in the same kitchen, are where the wrong label ends up on the wrong bottle.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and dates, so a raw batch and a processed one of the same juice stay apart.
Each batch a lot. Each pressing is a batch with its date and lot, and its own use-by date.
Separate items. Counter juice and processed bottles are separate items, each with its own recipe and label.
Recalls. If a batch has to come back, one report shows every customer who got it.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Raw and processed juice apart | Two shelves in the cooler | Separate items and lots |
| The date on a bottle | Worked out by hand | From the lot |
| Who got a batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Recipes, batches, lots and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.